What keeps us together
by Nymus
Summary: They had been together for a lifetime, through ups and downs. Even when they seemed to be far away from each other, there was always something that made them stick to each other. Their story, through time, told by small excerpts [Stingue Week 2018]
1. Power

**Disclaimer: The characters belongs to Hiro Mashima**

Couldn't let the Stingue week pass by my side, right?

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 **POWER**

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 _ **Year x784. Fiore's Country side.**_

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"I'm better than you" the kid said, a teasing grin on his face while he walked backwards to watch his friend. His arms were crossed behind his head, his hands tangled in his messy blond hair.

"This again?" Came the answer, a bit of exasperation tainting the otherwise nonchalant tone. "I thought we settled this months ago."

The first kid frowned, his smile faltering when an embarrassing memory came to his mind.

"You cheated." He pouted, his arms falling down and crossing over his chest. "It wasn't a fair fight."

"You keep saying that," the second kid said, while he carefully took off the hood that had been covering his head. He had short black hair and there were two small cats sleeping in the hood's now empty space. "but I remember teaching you how to do that move and you still never asked for a rematch."

The cats shifted in their sleep, probably disturbed by previous movements and the sunlight hitting them now. The kid who carried them stopped his walk to give them time to settle, and so did his friend, waiting for them all.

"It's no fun if you already know it's coming." He said, kicking a non existent pebble on the dusty ground and causing a small dirty cloud to rise from it. "I need a secret weapon."

"And yet, you complain about me cheating." The other one was still motionless, wary of any tiny gesture waking up the cats. "Very consistent."

"Shut up, Rogue, you know what I mean." The blond kid said, while a blush covered his cheeks.

"I know you are a whiny baby, yes."

The blond one grumbled, but didn't say anything else for a while, lacking an appropriate answer to what his friend said. He couldn't really say anything else without exposing himself to bigger teasing. It probably was his fault for starting a battle he couldn't win. A word battle, he meant, he could beat Rogue in a fist fight any day. He was just waiting for the right moment.

It took them some minutes to get back on track, but they still managed to get to the next town before dusk. Things had been better for them since they got old enough to get a room at an inn without people asking about their parents. While they still got some weird looks, innkeepers assumed they were running some errands for a guild. In the unusual case some of them asked, Sting had perfected a fake history for them both, and Rogue just nodded along with it. Since the green Exceed had also learned to agree with them, no one asked about it too much. No one asked about how they got money either. Thankfully.

Today was no different, usual routine settling as soon as they got their things in the room. They asked for a single bed, as always, because they were used to sleeping together, even when things had gotten more crowded since the Exceeds joined them. It was still nice though. They traveled light, so it didn't take them too much time to get comfortable in the small room. Once the cats were awake and they counted their money, the kids went downstairs alone, to get something to eat.

The inn's dining room was full, due to the nights getting longer and too cold to camp outside. Not that they wouldn't do it if needed, but it was nice to have a roof and a warm bed from time to time. And besides, it was a good place to get news about the magic world. Inns were a meeting point for wizards from all over the country, either those we were doing jobs close to town or those that were just staying the night to continue on their journey the next day. And adult wizards were prone to talk about themselves. They loved to tell histories about how amazing they were at this or that job, how many monsters they beat and how far they had traveled.

It was easy for Sting to get them to talk, faking just a bit of admiration was usually enough. Rogue found it very funny to watch. They were always so full of themselves, and a lot of them weren't that powerful either. Both kids knew when one of them was lying, but liars talked a lot, and amidst all the bullshit they said sometimes useful things appeared.

This time, however, wasn't a good night to get information about what they wanted to know. The only thing that everyone talked about was Fairy Tail's strongest wizards being dead now.

It came as a surprise to both of them but it seemed the news had been going around for a while. Everyone else was busy discussing the topic, like if they had done it once and again, different versions and details falling from all mouths at rapid fire speed. It wasn't a nice night to be a Dragon Slayer with heightened senses. Even less if the news hit close to home.

It was kinda stupid, Rogue thought, to get worked up about strangers dying. He might had been training with Gajeel for some time, but he couldn't say they had gotten closer. At most, he guessed the older man saw him as a tolerable bother. So, hearing he had died shouldn't be that important to Rogue. It shouldn't. The Iron Slayer had been almost like a hero to Rogue, but he didn't really know him, they weren't _friends_. And yet…

Sting's case was even worse. He hadn't even _talked_ once to any of them, he shouldn't be affected by it. Rogue didn't blame him though. He knew how important Salamander had been for the blond. The fire mage was some kind of inspiration for his friend and he dreamt of beating him in a battle when he was old and powerful enough.

It didn't take them long to get back to their room. They weren't hungry anymore. Once they closed the door behind them, Frosch jumped on Rogue's arms while Lector greeted them.

"You're back early! Did you get good news?" The cat was well-meaning but he wasn't very good at reading the mood. Anyway, their tense silence made him notice something was wrong. "Something happened?"

"Fairy Tail died." Was all Rogue said, sitting on the bed and petting Frosch, who looked at him with wide eyes. It was an almost absent action at this point, his mind far away from the motion, but it still worked to relax the green cat. Rogue was already used to doing it anytime they were close enough.

"They can't be dead." Sting was pacing in the room, anxiety rolling out from him at every step. "They were stronger than everyone else. The strongest mages in the country. They can't just disappear."

"It seems they did." The black haired kid didn't like the idea, but most stories said the whole island had vanished, what were they supposed to think? Frosch was still looking at him with those big eyes, and Rogue tried to keep himself in check. No sense on disturbing his younger friend over something they couldn't change.

"What did you hear?" Lector asked nervously, floating on the air over the bed. It was weird for him to be worried about it, although it was likely he was more worried about his friends' reaction than the death of a guild he didn't know.

Sting told the cat everything they had heard downstairs, while Rogue didn't add much. He was pensive and sad, and felt like he had to help his friend in some way, because the blond only seemed to be getting more and more worked up retelling the story. The kid wasn't sure what to do, and so he waited for the other one to finish before he tried to settle him down.

"You are going to dig a hole if you keep walking in circles." His teasing was weak but at least it got Sting to stop and face him. "Come sit here. It's late."

"I don't want to sleep yet." The blond argued, but he did sit on the bed near Rogue.

"I understand, but I think you're going to feel it soon." Just as he said that, a yawn took over his friend who rubbed his eyes with his hand. "I'm pretty tired too. Let's go to sleep, we can think about this tomorrow."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight." Sting played with a loose thread from the blankets, probably trying to distract himself from whatever his mind was focusing on.

"Just lay down, okay?" Rogue said as he got under the blankets with Frosch, the Exceed nuzzling at his chest as soon as they settled down. Lector followed them, looking at Sting with pleading eyes, while Rogue added. "It's warmer at least."

The blond nodded and took his usual place at the left side. As Rogue had guessed, he was way more tired than he thought and it didn't take him long to be softly snoring. The black haired kid was still awake thirty minutes later, looking at his friend's resting face.

"Is he going to be okay?" Lector asked from his place, between both of them. Rogue sighed, wondering the same, but not wanting to worry the Exceed more than he already was.

"I don't know. But I think he will. He's strong, even if he sometime struggles a bit." the kid closed his eyes, snuggling closer to Frosch, who was already sleeping. Lector didn't say anything else, and soon Rogue fell asleep, a bit of anxiety still rolling on his chest.

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It was weird for a while, but Rogue had been right. Things eventually got back to normal, once the first shock passed. The world kept going around and so did they, day by day. Their goals didn't change, even when it was sometimes weird to think that the mages they used to admire weren't there anymore. It was weird to think they would never catch up with their heroes.

However, it didn't mean they were going to stop. They still needed money, and still wanted to get better and stronger. There were a lot of things they wanted to do, and besides they now had two more friends to care about. And so, fate found them a few weeks later, at a different inn, at a different town.

It was there where a man they had never seen before approached with an unexpected offer. He was the guild master of a recently created guild and he was interested in them joining their ranks. There was a new tournament being organized by Fiore's king and the man wanted his guild to win it. He needed the strongest people in all of the country, he said, and he judged them powerful enough to be part of his team. Also, it would make a statement to have the only Dragon Slayers left in the whole country.

Rogue wasn't sure how had he gotten that information, but Sting seemed pretty excited about what the man said, and it was a surprise when he told him they needed time to think about his offer. Rogue guessed he was just playing hard to get to make himself seem more interesting, or maybe he actually wanted to ask Rogue his opinion and not force him to do something he didn't want. Both options were equally likely.

The man said it was okay, but he seemed annoyed. It was a bit unsettling, but Rogue didn't read too much onto it. He guessed the man had been waiting for them to say yes with no doubts. The older mage left and said he would return in the morning to know their answer. Some people followed him with their eyes, surely because of his body size and the powerful aura surrounding him. It took a few minutes for the inn to settle down and not long after that, the kids went to their room.

"I'm not really sure" Rogue said, as soon as the door closed behind them. He wasn't exactly against joining a guild and the man said they were powerful enough to be part of one already. Since they were still young, it was flattering at least to get an offer like that out of nowhere. It was just his cautious nature which made him doubt a bit. He just wanted to be sure they both knew what they were getting into. That, and he didn't want to lose a chance to argue with Sting a bit. It was funny to see him stumble over his own words when he was trying to prove a point.

"What?! How are you not sure?" And surely, the blond was already gesticulating with his arms, trying to make his opinion clear enough."We can't say no! It's a great chance!"

Even if he looked ridiculous, almost like a bird flapping his wings, Rogue resisted the temptation to laugh. It was a serious topic after all, and Sting did also have a point.

"Can't you lower your voice a bit? Frosch is sleeping." The small Exceed was, indeed, fast asleep. He was still very young so it made sense he would sleep more than Lector, who was outside looking for a shop he wanted to visit the next day.

"I'm sorry. But I can't believe what you said!" The blond's whisper-scream was barely better than his previous loud voice but Rogue let it go for once. They had important stuff to discuss and Frosch didn't seem to care.

"Isn't it a bit weird though?" He mused, sitting on the bed and looking at the ceiling. "How did he find us? How did he know about the dragons?"

"I guess we're not subtle enough anymore?" Sting seemed pensive, but not really worried. He was relaxed and sitting on the floor near the door, looking through the window. He was probably wondering when his Exceed would come back. "Lector found me because he knew about me fighting for money."

It made sense. If a single Exceed could find them based on rumors, surely a grown up man with a guild behind him could as well. Rogue sighed in defeat.

"For the record, I still think it's a bit weird." Sting beamed at him when he heard it.

"Does that mean we're going to officially join his guild?" he was leaning a bit towards the bed, like a puppy waiting for a reward. It was ridiculous.

"I guess so" Rogue looked at him and smiled. "You weren't gonna let me rest if I said no anyway."

Sting cheered and jumped on the bed, trying to tackle Rogue by surprise. He saw him coming and caught him, both of them falling to the ground and wrestling until Lector came back and knocked at the window. Frosch didn't even notice.

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Next morning, when the big man came, they told him it would be nice to join Sabertooth and, a few hours later, they left the town with him.


	2. Trust

**Disclaimer: The characters belongs to Hiro Mashima**

Couldn't let the Stingue week pass by my side, right?

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 **TRUST**

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 ** _Year x787. Azalea town, West Fiore_**

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Pain had been a constant in their life for a while. At some point, Sting wasn't sure when, he had become used to some parts of his body permanently hurting. It wasn't exactly bad, but when he stopped to think about it, a certain discomfort crawled upon his body. A voice inside him said there was something wrong with it, said he was too young for his limbs being constantly aching from overexertion.

Sting thought it was stupid, to be honest. Master didn't lie to them when he said Sabertooth would be the strongest guild in the whole country. It was thanks to his leadership and strong discipline that the guild got to win the Games again and again. His body resenting the training was surely just another sign of the weakness lying inside him. Something he will try to get rid off, as soon as he could.

So what if he wanted to take a break from training? So what if he wanted an easier mission from time to time? He and Rogue were the strongest team in all the guild, so of course it made sense they will take the hardest and more dangerous ones. They had to bring glory to Sabertooth. That was why they had been recruited in the first place. It would be stupid to ruin it now, just because of a bit of pain. It was what he told himself every time the voice tried to convince him otherwise.

He had no time to think about a stupid voice trying to make him fall victim of his most imperfect self. He had other things to worry about. Like completing his missions as fast as he could, or Rogue's behaviour. That was something he should worry about.

His friend had been acting weird for a while. Sting wasn't sure what had happened, but there had been a change in their dynamics. In some ways, it made sense. They were different now, they weren't kids anymore and so it was appropriated for there to be some differences. Like the whole bed sharing stuff, they were too old to entertain such childish behaviour, but Rogue had been upset when Sting had told him so. He didn't really argue against it, but he had been confused at first and very silent later. There had been a weird edge to his eyes too, the first time he found the new bed in their shared room.

And ever since then, Rogue had gotten more and more quiet. To be fair, he had never been too chatty, but he used to answer Sting's jabs with his own and make thoughtful comments from time to time, about things he liked or was interested in. Those had drastically dropped, and now the dark haired guy barely answered direct questions. Most of his talking nowadays was directed at Frosch. Bless the Exceed for being the only one who could drag Rogue away from his silent phases.

However, Sting couldn't say Rogue was being mean, or inconsiderate or any of those things because he kept asking how Sting was doing, or if training went well for him. In fact, he was maybe a bit too concerned, because everytime Sting told him he was okay, Rogue looked at him as if he were lying. He didn't say anything, but that single look echoed the small voice nagging him from inside and it both annoyed and scared Sting.

No. It didn't scare him. He wasn't a kid anymore. He just thought it was stupid.

The blond shook his head, clearing his mind from useless musings. They were very close to Azalea town, its small houses already in sight between all the dust from the mountainous road. It had taken them some time to get there, even when they had taken the awful ride by train to the closer city. It was still a long way from there to the town. The walk had been a quiet one, mostly because Sting was still feeling a bit queasy after the ride and guessed Rogue felt the same. The Exceeds were usually very understanding about their motion sickness, so they didn't pressure them.

Once they got to the town, Sting told the cats to go explore it while Rogue and him handled the meeting with the town Mayor. The Exceeds usually got bored easily, specially Frosch. And Sting didn't want them to see the look the Mayor will surely have on their face when he saw them. Two kids for an S class mission. That's what they all thought when looking at them. It made Sting mad.

This wasn't an exception and so, as usual, it was Rogue who handled the details about what they needed to do, what the reward would be, and every other information the town people had about their objective. He also reassured the Mayor twice that they were, indeed, qualified to handle such a dangerous mission. Sting only nodded or ground his teeth at the back.

At its core, it was a simple hunting mission. They had to find a monster's nest near the mountains, and kill them all. They had been raiding the town and killing travelers at random. The Mayor said people believed the beasts were cursed, since they were bigger and more aggressive than any other monster they had seen before. Sting huffed at that, and Rogue sent him a warning look before resuming his talk with the Mayor. It took just a few minutes more to finish the talk.

"Shouldn't we take a room at the inn?" Rogue asked, once the meeting was over and they had left the town hall. "It seems like it will take us a few hours to get to their nest."

"We can't. Master wants us to be back tomorrow, so we need to travel back tonight." Was the immediate answer, one Sting had said a lot of times before.

Rogue bit his lower lip, taking a moment to think, before carefully asking.

"Do we really need to? He's gonna send us on another mission when we get back. Can't it wait a day?"

It took Sting by surprise. Mostly because he felt a huge need to agree with him and just lay down for a day. He knew, however, that Master didn't like delays and that them being late would have consequences. Said consequences were never easy to handle, for anyone. The blond suppressed a shudder and shook his head at the question, throwing away his own doubts.

"It can't! We need to do as many missions as we can! Sabertooth needs our hard work."

"But-" Rogue tried again, but Sting cut his sentence before he could make him falter.

"We can't disappoint Master!." And then there was that look on Rogue's face again. Something Sting couldn't name, and yet made his guts twist.

The shadow mage, however, nodded and didn't say anything else. He turned around and walked towards where the Exceeds waited for them. It hit Sting hard, because he missed the playful banter they used to have. The new silent Rogue made him sad, even if he didn't dare breach the topic to his friend. He wasn't sure the answer would help.

"Hey." Sting tried. "Maybe we can talk about taking a break after this one? I'm sure the money will be enough for a few days, and we have done a lot lately. We won all competitions last games!"

It made his friend blink with surprise, stopping his walk to look at him. There was too much uncertainty in his eyes, but a shaky smile took place on his lips.

"I guess we can try."

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Once they found Lector and Frosch and let them know the details of the mission, they all started the long trek to the mountains, searching for the nest of the monsters that had been terrorizing Azalea.

It was a slow journey, the paths getting tricky and dangerous once they left behind the more used ones. Dust and rocks made their way even harder, for the DragonSlayers at least, since the Exceeds were just flying around or climbing on their shoulders.

Sting and Lector keep chatting in low voices, with Frosch joining them to agree with any of them or both. Rogue was more focused on their surroundings, looking for traps or an ambush. The trip, however, was calm until the point where they had decided the Exceeds would wait for them. Descriptions of the beasts were poorly done and barely covered the basics. It would have been a risk to take the Exceeds to their nest with so little information.

Both DragonSlayers kept going, their sharps senses on edge, looking for any trail that could lead them to their enemies. It was stressful, but necessary, and since they were both used to it already it was barely a nuisance at this point. The mountains were unnaturally quiet and it made Sting anxious. There was something hiding there, something dangerous.

The path got narrower until it disappeared, just a few meters before a plateau. Some figures were moving around there and Sting relaxed when he saw them. Just Vulcans. He thought it would be harder. He had never seen that type though, darker than the ones he had fought before, but it shouldn't be that much of a problem. As usual, the town's people must have been exaggerating about the beast.

"Guess our job is mostly done." The blond said, way more confident than he had felt before finding the enemies.

"I don't think it will be that easy…" Rogue told him, his eyes wandering from one Vulcan to another. "Those are weird ones."

"We can beat a few of these monsters easily, Rogue." Confident, Sting marched towards the monster, no tricks or distractions needed.

All the beasts at the plateau turned to look at him, five in total. Upon closer inspection, he could see there was something different about them, they were bigger and their movements seemed more mechanical than normal ones. They were bigger than any other Vulcan but they seemed to be lacking the intelligence associated with them. Whatever. Different or not, it was only a Vulcan.

When he was close enough, the blond jumped and attacked them with his bare fists. He didn't need his magic yet, or at least that's what he thought.

"Sting, wait!" Rogue tried, but it was already too late. The closer Vulcano had caught Sting's hand and made him crash face down on on the ground, before sending him flying back towards his original position, near the plateau's start. It was a hard landing, and it took a moment for the world to stop spinning around him. Sting lifted his upper body with his arms and checked himself.

His lip was broken and bleeding, but he was well enough to keep fighting. The monsters were dangerous though. Strong enough to hurt them if they weren't careful. Sting whispered that to Rogue, knowing that his friend will hear him even with his low tone. Bless the enhanced hearing. The shadow mage nodded once, before placing himself between the beasts and Sting. It made the blond chuckle, even if he was touched by his gesture. He was such a mother hen when he wanted to.

Sting stood up, spitting blood and dust from his mouth and cleaning himself with his sleeve. Those monsters would pay for that. He bumped his shoulder slightly with Rogue's as a sign of reassurance, while they looked at the Vulcans. The beasts still hadn't moved, but their heads were turned towards them and there was a snarl on their lips.

"Don't do anything stupid again." Rogue hissed, his red eyes fixated on the Vulcans, and the mix of rocks and woods that seemed to be their nest.

"I won't." Sting mumbled, a bit embarrassed that he'd gotten hurt before the real fight even started.

All at once, the five beasts attacked with no warning. Their racing echoed through the mountains and Sting wondered for a second how probable a landslide will be. The monsters reached them and he sprinted into movement. He jumped to his left while Rogue did the same to his right, synchronised as always. His magic sparkled around him rushing to his aid, and this time his fist was supported by his white magic. A white ray left his hand, roasting one Vulcan's shoulder before finding a twin dark ray. Both magics hit each other and bounced back, hurting another victim each.

It wasn't enough to take them down though and so Sting had to run away from the enraged beasts. They were busy howling to the sky, but a third one chased him and Sting took his chance. Once he was close enough to the plateau's edge, he turned around and waited for the beast still following him. He took a defensive stance and when he saw that the Vulcan was about to reach him, Sting dove between its legs, getting to its back. He jumped up and kicked the monster, sending him down the hill.

The first beast Sting had beat was immediately beside him, and it managed to catch Sting's jacket from behind. The blond mage twisted in its grip and manage to turn around enough to cast White Dragon's Claw over the Vulcan. He watched with satisfaction as the Stigma materialized and when it stopped moving, it just took a Holy Ray to defeat it.

He disentangled himself from the body and rushed to help Rogue, who had been surrounded by the remaining three monsters. Sting attacked one of them from behind, his eyes locking with Rogue's for a millisecond, before the shadow mage disappeared. He materialized a few meters away, luring away two Vulcans while Sting handled the other one.

The damn beast was resilient, big, and furious. The blond found himself dodging more than attacking, unable to catch a breath. He was vaguely aware that Rogue had managed to defeat one of his enemies, but had drifted away from him. Sting frowned but was unable to do anything else. Rogue could take care of himself.

Concentrating again on his fight, the DragonSlayer called on his magic in its most basic form, light flashing and blinding his enemy for a second. It was all Sting needed, giving him enough time to summon his Dragon's Breath and send the Vulcan flying away. It didn't stand up again. He took a moment to breathe, his sides and arms aching from where the monster had managed to hit him.

Over the rush of blood in his ears, he heard something different than Rogue fighting the remaining enemy. A sudden dread sat heavily on his chest. He looked up, just in time to see how a Vulcan, the one he had thrown off the cliff, roared powerfully before he charged towards its closest target. Rogue.

It took Sting less than a second to realize.

He wasn't going to make it. There was no way he would be able to reach Rogue before the beast crushed him. Even worse, the other guy hadn't even noticed the Vulcan was charging full speed towards him. As engaged as Rogue was in his battle, he'd forgotten to pay attention to his surroundings. Sting saw everything in slow motion, the big monster and its murderous race, his friend fighting unaware of the impending doom, and the distance keeping him too far away to reach them in time. A risky idea crossed his mind, and with no other option, Sting took a leap of faith.

"Dive!" he screamed, his body moving by instinct while his magic rushed to his aid, sending a pure white blast to where Rogue's head had been just a moment before. There was no time for aiming better, or making sure his magic wouldn't hurt him. The shadow mage, however, wasn't there anymore, because with zero hesitations he had abandoned his fight half way and dropped to the ground as soon as Sting's voice reached him.

The racing beast screamed and fell to ground, his body raising a dust cloud that hid Rogue from both Sting and the beast he was fighting before. The monster seemed confused, so the blond took his chance and ran towards them before it could react. Just a few steps before he got to them, a black spear appeared from the air and stabbed the beast right at the chest. The huge monster collapsed and Rogue stood up, a bit dirty and disheveled but unharmed.

Sting didn't even think about it before launching over Rogue and hugging him with all his strength.

"Rogue! I thought it was going to hurt you! I was so worried!" He was still so shaken by the close call that it took him a moment to realize the shadow mage was all tense in his arms. However, as soon as he realized and made a slight motion to back off, Rogue latched onto him, his arms clinging to Sting's back. He relaxed, and leaned heavily on him while sighing.

"Sorry." Rogue muttered in Sting's ear. "I didn't notice the last one. Thank you."

"It's nothing. I can't stand seeing you hurt." That claim made Rogue tense again. This time, he actually broke their embrace to look at Sting's eyes.

"Can't you?." Rogue asked, some uncertainty in his voice and a weird shade in his eyes.

"Of course not!" Sting said, unable to believe Rogue could doubt his word. "Don't you believe me?"

The shadow mage stared at him for a long time, no words spoken, before something softened in his gaze.

"Right. I do. I believe you, I mean" He took a step back, taking in all the fallen corpses around them. "It seems our job is complete. Let's go back."

His hand found Sting's wrist and gripped lightly, dragging him back toward Azalea. The blond let himself be guided, but there was a weird feeling at his chest, telling him he was missing something.

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Once they got back to the guild, they were sent on another mission, even further away than the first one. Neither of them asked for a break.


	3. Gamble

**Disclaimer: The characters belongs to Hiro Mashima**

Couldn't let the Stingue week pass by my side, right?

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 **GAMBLE**

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 _ **Year x789. Orchid Town, West Fiore.**_

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Sting didn't like him anymore. He avoided him. He stopped leaning into him, stopped their casual reassurance touches. He barely talked to him anymore, unless it was mission related. Rogue didn't understand. It was true he had been the first one to close into himself, but that was more related to the big doubts he had about the guild itself and the perpetual unease he felt when they were being evaluated by the Master. And how disappointed he was because Sting seemed to drink his words with no hesitation, even when Rogue knew he wasn't completely okay with more than one law.

And yet, he hadn't pushed Sting away, he had always tried to make clear how much he cared about his friend. The blond was, in fact, the only reason he had decided to put up with Sabertooth and the Master for so long. And, until not so long ago, he thought it was a mutual thing.

That, even if Sting had gotten totally involved with the propaganda, with the guild keeping its place as the first one, with power and strength being his only value measurement, there was still a part of him who cared about Rogue as much as he did about Sting.

Sometimes, when they were both alone and they happened to lock eyes, Rogue could have swear there was _something_ else. Sting looked at him with something warm inside on his gaze, something that seemed to mirror Rogue's own feelings. Those feelings he didn't dare to name, but that have been there for a while, taking roots deep inside his soul.

He couldn't remember a time when he looked at Sting smiling and didn't feel something. He couldn't remember seeing him hurt and don't feeling that huge need to protect. He guessed all those things had been growing from when they were both kids and met the first time, and they may have change with time. The bases were still the same, but some new edges appeared as they grew up.

And Rogue could have swear Sting was the same, at least until he had started to avoid him.

He would have thought being able to finally do an Unison Raid would make them even closer, but in reality, Sting had started to push him away from that day on. It didn't exactly affected their team work, because that would have unacceptable to Sabertooth's Master, but there was a big something missing. A hole that nothing else could fill.

Rogue didn't like this new arrogant, cold, distant Sting, first because he missed his best friend, and second because he was worried the blond was hiding something under all that bragging. He had always done that, hide his discomfort under a lot of words, activity, and noise. And Rogue always knew when he did, small gestures betraying the storm brewing inside. It only got worse after they joined Sabertooth.

This time, all the signs were there. The blond seemed to be always tense, waiting for something that will come, taking mission after mission in a frenzy, not even asking Rogue about them anymore. He didn't left Rogue check on him, didn't talk on their way to their jobs, and barely acknowledge the other mage when plans were required.

At first, Rogue had tried to talk with him, seeing how the blond seemed to just get more and more worked up about whatever was eating him from inside, but Sting had rejected him any time he tried to get closer. Refused to talk, ignored him and even left the room a few times when Rogue tried to approach the topic or asked if he had a problem with something.

It hurt. It hurt way more than Rogue would have think. Not that he ever considered being in that situation, for some stupid reason he had assumed there was nothing that could break the Twin DragonSlayers. It was probably his childish voice which led him into false assumptions.

After a while, however, Rogue wasn't only hurt but mad. Sting's actions pissed him off because who the hell did he think he was. Who gave him the right to stumble into Rogue's life, lure him into a feeling trap and then brush all their experiences together like is they were nothing. How did he dare to push him away without even a proper explanation. Without even dignifying him with an answer.

His resentment festered inside him, day by day, until it exploded at the worse time it could.

.

* * *

.

They were on a mission, a dangerous one, or at least that's what the job request said. They had to chase down a dark guild, which had been terrorizing the town's people of Orchid. The Mayor who had requested assistance didn't have too much information, besides knowing all people had a guild's mark and that they hid at some place deep in the forest. Best approach would be to do an exploration first, before coming down with a plan to track the dark mages or lure them on.

Sting, however, kept insisting on they should just go blind into the forest until they found the guild they were supposed to fight. He kept saying that would be faster, that if they do that, they could go back to the guild with another successful job. Rogue was already grinding his teeth, but he reached his breaking point when the blond suggested they could just go different ways, to cover more field.

They were at the town's inn, where they were supposed to get something to eat before starting the trip into the forest. A very public place to start a fight, but Rogue couldn't help himself.

"Well, you can do whatever you want." He said, his voice burning with a cold fire that didn't go unnoticed.

"What?" Sting blinked owlishly at him, caught off guard by Rogue's spite.

"You heard me. I don't care, you have an idea so do it. It's not like you care about what I have to say anyway." By that point, it was obvious everyone at the Inn's hall was looking at them. Some of them, like the Innkeeper, were trying to make it subtle, but most of them had their eyes fixated on the DragonSlayers.

"What are you talking about?." The blond took a defensive position, both with his body and his tone. He must have notice the venom lingering behind every word Rogue had said.

"Just get lost in the woods, Sting, I'm sure it'll be perfectly fine." His tone was unnaturally calm, making the blond flinch. He recovered fast though, and his answer was a well aimed low blow.

"Fine! It's not like I need you anyway!"

It stung. Enough to make his heart skip a beat, and Sting seemed to realize what he said, because regret showed on his face and he opened his mouth to say something. Rogue didn't let him, turning around and climbing the stairs without looking back. He heard a muffled scream and then the main door from the inn slammed shaking the whole building.

Only then Rogue turned around to look at the empty space Sting had occupied before. There was a stunned silence between the innkeeper and the patrons, none of them daring to meet Rogue's eyes. It was a smart thing to do, because the shadow mage felt like kicking something, breaking something to pieces or crying. All of them at the same time. He would probably punch anyone who tried to talk to him.

"Rogue." Frosch said then, and Rogue felt his need to cry stronger than ever, because he had forgotten the Exceeds were with them, and he didn't feel strong enough to face the cat just right now. "Is Rogue mad at Sting?"

The only thing he could do was open his arms, a silent ask for a hug that Frosch answered with no hesitation.

"I'm sorry, Frosch." He muttered when the Exceed snuggled against him.

"Is Sting not coming back again?"

"He will. Don't worry." He said that both to the cat and to himself. There was no way Sting would leave them hanging there.

.

* * *

.

It was uncomfortable for everyone later, when Rogue calmed down enough to go back to the innkeeper and ask him where was the dining room. He actually had no reason to go up the stairs, he had only wanted to get away from Sting. The poor innkeeper had been terrified when he saw him walk towards him, but Rogue had managed to be civil enough to not scare him more. It wasn't his fault, even if Rogue felt the need to unleash his rage into someone else.

Once the man answered his question, Rogue bought food for him and for Frosch, sitting at the most hidden corner he could find. There, he waited.

Hours passed and the night fell over the town, but Sting never come back. At the end, Rogue took a room, two beds, for the night. To the hell with Master. He wasn't going to travel at night with a pissed Sting when he himself was still shook by their fight.

Midnight came closer, the dining room slowly emptied from everyone but him, and the blond was still missing with Lector. Rogue didn't want to admit it but he was anxious and worried, knowing fully he had been the one who sent Sting away, even if the blond had been asking for it. He should already be back. An insidious voice whispered that maybe he had indeed abandoned them, left them behind and reported to the guild alone, with whatever excuse he could think.

"Rogue." Frosch asked then, from his lap. The Exceed had refused to sleep alone in the room, and to be fair didn't seem to need it yet. "Is Sting mad at Rogue? Why isn't he back yet?"

"He's not back because he's stupid, Frosch" Rogue said, taking the cat on his arms and standing up. "We're going to look for them."

"Are Sting and Lector in problems?" asked Frosch again, wings appearing over the frog costume back. Rogue let the exceed go to fly by his side.

"I think so." Was the answer from the shadow mage. "That's why we need to find them. Then we will all come back together to the inn."

"Fro likes when everyone is together."

"Of course you do" Rogue said, a little smile finding its way to his lips. Frosch never failed to lift his spirit.

The walk into the forest surrounding Orchid made Rogue feel on edge. At night, the woods seemed way more menacing that they had done at morning, even more when now he knew there was a dark guild lurking around. Sting being missing only made him more anxious, knowing that he could be either lost or in problems right now.

Frosch had stopped flying and was now perked on Rogue's shoulder, looking around from time to time. After at least half an hour of walking, the shadow mage stilled, his enhanced senses feeling something shift.

Some bushes shook and Rogue caught the metallic smell of blood, just a moment before someone appeared from behind. It was Lector, and the smell was coming from him.

"Rogue! Frosch!" The Exceed screamed, running towards them. Rogue caught him half way, just in time to avoid him falling when he tripped. Rogue kneeled to get closer to him and asked.

"Lector! What happened?." The cat opened his mouth to talk, but then big tears fell from his eyes and he bawled, hugging Rogue with all his strength. The shadow mage was shocked but a closer inspection to his little friend gave him some answers.

His wings were bonded together. Rogue didn't even think before breaking the metal holding them down, trying very hard to keep his temper in check. No wonder Lector was running instead of flying.

"What happened?." He asked, with the softer voice he could manage. "Where is Sting?."

"Sting!" Lector said in between sobs. "They caught him! They found us both but-!"

Frosch had landed at his side and was looking at Rogue, bordering on crying too. The exceed put a paw over Lector's shoulder, while Rogue rubbed his back.

"You need to tell me something more, Lector." The shadow mage tried again. "Who are they?."

"The guild! The dark guild from the mission! They found us and ambushed us. Sting fought them, but one of them hit him from the back." Lector explained, his voice cutting off a few times.

Rogue felt his blood run cold. It took him a big amount of self control to not pressure Lector or shake him for answers.

"Where are they?" He asked instead, a dangerous edge in his voice.

"There's a big house in the forest. They took us both there, and Sting tried to fight them. They did something to him, so he couldn't use his magic!" The exceed made a pause, more tears leaving his eyes before he kept on his explanation. "We managed to break away from the house for a moment but they caught him back, and he told me. He told me- He told me to go to find you! But it's dark and I couldn't fly and-"

It obviously became too much for the Exceed because he broke in sobs again, his body shaking. Rogue wished he could do something else but he needed to find Sting before he could get into more problems than he already was.

"Okay, just tell me where it is. I'll go for him." He tried to stood up, but Lector clinged to his legs and begged.

"You can't! We need to reach the guild and ask for help!"

"The guild." Rogue snarled, trying his best to keep his voice low enough to not scare the cats even more. "I don't need them to rescue him. I will save him myself."

Lector couldn't stop crying, his paws smeared with blood that didn't belong to him. Frosch was easily getting upset and time kept running against them

"But Rogue, it's dangerous!" Lector tried, feelings obviously fighting inside him. His hope that Rogue will save Sting clashing with his worry for the shadows mage well-being.

Rogue took a deep breath. Nothing of this was the cat's fault. He liked to play it cool, but at his core, Lector was still very impressionable and sensitive. He obviously had a hard day.

"Take him back to town, Frosch." Rogue said then. "Do you remember our room?."

The exceed thought for a moment and nodded. Rogue wasn't sure if he believed that nod, but he didn't have too many options. Sting needed him, as soon as possible, Lector was bordering a break-down and he couldn't split in two. It was a risk he would have to take. It would be fine if they managed to get to the town.

"Okay. You both will go back to the inn and wait for us." Rogue took Lector's paws, cleaning the blood with his hands. "I will get that stupid blond back, okay? Don't worry."

The exceed sniffed a few times, rubbing his eyes to clean the tears, while Frosch floated unsure of what to do. When Lector finally spread his wings, Frosch took his paw and started to lead him to the way back. The scene managed to touch Rogue's heart even with all the emotions piling inside.

Once the cats were finally out of sight, Rogue let go. A growl left his lips, rumbling deep on his chest, and the shadows around him grew and twisted.

"Shadow Drive." He whispered, a spell he had managed to master not so long ago but would come in handy fighting a dark guild alone. The dark mages had chosen an awful day to kidnap someone. They wouldn't know what happened when Rogue was done with them.

Following Lector's instructions and the trail the Exceed left, it didn't take him long to find the house where his friend was being kept. It was a decayed mansion, abandoned in the middle of the forest. Rogue never understood why people built so far from towns or cities, only to let them behind later. It was as if they were asking to be a dark guild's main headquarters.

The night was perfect for an ambush and Rogue knew it. He was also aware that, besides some vague descriptions from Lector, he knew almost nothing about the guild or its members.

So, it would have been smarter to make a plan, to check what was happening inside and made a better assessment of the situation at hand. However, Rogue was a DragonSlayer and he could smell _Sting's blood_ inside the house. He had also had an awful day so it was no wonder he wasn't being the most rational one at this point.

Rogue blended with the shadows and materialized in the middle of the mansion hall's, not even trying to be stealthy. It seemed none of the dark mages had been aware of his presence, because there was a shocked silence for a moment, before they tried to attack him.

It was an useless effort, since his powers made him untouchable, unless he wanted to hit them, so he just let the first wave tire themselves out before unleashing his power, fueled by the rage burning deep on his veins. The dark guild never had a chance.

The battle itself was blurry on Rogue's memories, a mix of the shadows disturbing his sight a bit and the fury blinding his other senses. He just knew he took down every mage in the room, before going up the main stairs and fighting who seemed to be their leader. He hadn't been a great mage nor a great fighter, so his power should have come mostly from his followers and tricks.

It didn't take the DragonSlayer too long to beat him, though it took a lot of restrain to not kill him on the spot. He was in a legal guild, it was his duty to let the Magic Council handle criminals, but Rogue was short on patience this night. Once the other mage was unconscious, Rogue let the Drive disappear, his senses sharpening again when his body became totally corporeal again.

He followed Sting's trail until he found him lying on the ground in one of the upper rooms. His hands were bonded with magic sealing cuffs, which would explain how could have some mediocre mages managed to defeat and restrain him. The sight made Rogue's feelings clash, because he wanted to both kick him and hug him. He also wanted to go back and kill every mage who dared to hurt his friend.

Sting looked at him with surprise when he opened the door. It was ridiculous. As if Rogue would ever do any other thing but go for him. As if he would ever leave Sting on his own. They could have been in the middle of the biggest fight and Rogue would still go to save him, bare hands if he needed to.

And he may have been rougher than he needed to, like when he dragged his sorry ass up from the ground and freed his hands. Maybe he wasn't the most comforting while he made sure he could walk before letting go of him to check and restrain the unconscious mages all over the place. Rogue may be guilty on those, but he was mad so he couldn't care less.

He was mad at Sting for ignoring him, for rejecting him and for running away with no care, putting himself in danger. He was even madder at him for doubting even for a second that Rogue would go to the end of the world to save him, anytime.

It took some time for Rogue to tie everyone, and make sure there was no one else lingering in the house, anyone who could free the dark mages before the Council arrived. He didn't let Sting help him, nor said anything to him, walking around the house with the blond behind, an awkward silence between them.

It would have been wiser to wait there, at least until the Rune Knight appeared, but as far as Rogue knew, the Council had no idea Sabertooth had taken that mission. He had also promised Lector that they would be back to the town and he didn't want to stress him more than he was the last time Rogue saw him.

And besides, once the rush from the battle had calmed down, the shadow mage was starting to feel tired too. The day had been awful in any possible way and Rogue just wanted to get over with it. Turning his back on the mansion, he started the long walk back, the blond following him without questioning.

"I'm sorry." Sting whispered from behind. "I didn't really mean it."

Rogue didn't stop, didn't say anything, only nodded not caring if the other one saw it or not. Even if the apology pacified him for a moment, there was an underlying anger at everything that lead them to this point. He didn't want to fight Sting again though. Not that night. After a few minutes, it was obvious the blond was lagging behind. He hadn't say anything, but Rogue knew better.

"You are hurt." Rogue said,not a question. Sting would have lied if he asked. "What did they do to you?"

"I'm not sure. They were trying to… extract magic or something" There was an hesitation on the blond's voice, ugly implications hanging below the surface. "They needed blood and… other things."

"Do you need help?" It escaped his mouth before he could stop, and Rogue wanted to kick himself.

"I'm not weak." Was the answer. Rogue pressed his lips together, his anger bubbling inside himself once again. He nodded, not trusting his voice to say anything else. He slowed his walk instead, enough for Sting to catch up with him and keep his pace this time.

It took them twice the time to finally get to the town. The night was old, almost touching the morning but not quite yet. Rogue woke up the innkeeper, asking him to call the magic Council to handle the dark mages he had defeated, and then leaded Sting to the room he had paid for.

Lector jumped on Sting as soon as he saw him crossing the room's door, crying and apologizing for being an useless friend. The mage said it was okay, petting his head until the Exceed calmed down enough to let him go. It took a long time, but no one would have expected otherwise. Tiredness was hanging hard on the blond's shoulders, dragging them down from their usual proud position, but Rogue wasn't done yet.

The shadow mage never asked, only dropped bandages on the bed and waited for Sting to catch the message. It seemed he was going to argue, at first, but he was either too tired or the pain was too much. He took off his clothes, avoiding Rogue's eyes all the time, especially when a huge gash on his calf became visibly.

Rogue didn't say anything, dressing his wounds in silence. When he was done, he put back on his backpack everything he had used, and lied down on his bed. Sting shifted a bit on his own, like if he wanted to say something, but at the end he turned off the lamps and went to sleep. Lector curled at his side, and both were soon sleeping soundlessly.

"Go to sleep, Frosch." Rogue whispered to his own Exceed, who was looking at him with big open eyes. "It's late."

"Fro thinks so too."

It took some time for the cat to finally settle down, probably still disturbed by the day's events. Frosch finally fell asleep over Rogue's chest, listening to his heart and being lightly petted. The shadow mage, instead, was unable to close his eyes and rest. He listened to his partners' peaceful breathing while the moon disappeared from the sky and the light slowly filled the room. His thoughts were unable to quiet down.

.

* * *

.

Rogue didn't wake up Sting when morning came. To the hell with the first train.


	4. Vulnerable

**Disclaimer: The characters belongs to Hiro Mashima**

Couldn't let the Stingue week pass by my side, right?

* * *

 **.**

 **VULNERABLE**

 **.**

* * *

 _ **Year x791. Grand Magic Games.**_

* * *

Sting had been keeping his bravado for so long, so, so long, that letting it fall and showing what he had inside felt like being naked. It was hard, very hard, to acknowledge his own weakness, everything he had failed at and all the things that he could do better. It was even harder to do it at a public place, surrounded by a rival guild and feeling the weight of lacryma's cameras on him.

It was a huge burden on his back, one that made him fell to his knees and cry, unable to keep upright when everything was piling up over him. The stares of Fairy Tail's mages made him feel raw and exposed, judged as unworthy and inadequate. He knew what he was supposed to do, he had been there and agreed to the plan. He was perfectly aware what would it mean if he didn't obey Minerva's orders. He had been ready to do anything to win, to take Sabertooth to the first place.

However, when the final step came to life, he couldn't stop wondering what was the glory in beating half dead people. Given the circumstances he could, probably, win easily, but… It would be a victory so empty, so vain, it made his skin crawl. How could he face everyone after crowning himself the king of cowards? How could he explain to Lector that he had saved him by hiding and waiting until everyone else was barely standing on their feet? He was a Sabertooth member; he had been trained to win at any cost, but this was a price he couldn't pay. Not this time.

So he resigned. He couldn't believe the words that left his mouth, but he did. And it made him feel good, in a weird way. It made him feel he had done the right thing, for once, even with the impending doom of never seeing Lector again. Except… Expect he did see him again, since apparently one of the Mermaid's girls had found him and brought him along. With the exceed safe on his arms, he was able to think it will get better. That this fall with take him further instead of back.

Later, when Fairy Tail's mages left and so did all the paraphernalia related to their victory, he found himself sitting closer to one of the stone arcs, his hand slowly going up and down Lector's head. The experience must had shaken his friend a lot because the exceed was weirdly silent after their reunion calmed down. The Dragon Slayer felt pensive, his mind both tired and calm from his breakdown. The silence soothed him and the repetitive movement he was doing kept him from thinking too much. There were a lot of things to think about, but he was content with letting them rest until tomorrow.

"I saw what happened." A voice suddenly called from behind him.

"Did you?" Sting had noticed him coming from the start, so no sound of surprise left his mouth. Only a tiny insecurity latched on his question, a small part he couldn't suppress.

"Yeah." The shadow mage sat by his side, on the cold stone floor. Frosch was clinging to his neck, apparently half-asleep. "You were brave."

"I don't feel very brave right now." The blond said, his voice barely more than a whisper, while he kept petting Lector.  
"I know." Rogue leaned a bit into him, their shoulders bumping. Of course he knew. Rogue always knew what happened, no words needed.

And maybe Sting was being brave today because there, hidden from the cameras that followed the champions, under the dark shadow of a porch, he dared to snuggle closer to Rogue and even nuzzled a bit under his jaw. He wasn't sure what he expected, after everything he had done and said before. but when the other mage sighed and circled his waist with his arm, dragging him even closer, it felt natural. It felt like it was always meant to be this way. It was ironic that, at the end, it was a defeat which made them both felt lighter than ever.

They stayed there, sitting together with their exceeds while the moon raised.

.

* * *

.

The whole dragons' disaster took everyone by surprise, too sudden to do anything but fight back with all the strength they had. It was only when they vanished, when the remaining ruins from Crocus were all the dragons left behind, that Sting had some time to think and process what had just happened. Dragons were worse than he thought. Even when he had been able to stand his ground while it was needed, the power difference was too big to ignore. He was absolutely sure he would have ended up defeated or dead if fight would have keep going. It wasn't a nice scenery to think about, but he wasn't embarrassed to say it anymore. He had, at least, learnt that. To admit he was unable to achieve something gave him the chance to correct himself and grow. Pushing himself while ignoring his weaknesses had helped him until then, but he knew better now. He would do better from now on.

While he was lost in his musings, watching the golden light slowly disappear, he failed to notice his partner struggle, at first. It must say something about how much dragons had shocked him that he lost sight of Rogue for a moment. They had had each other's backs since they were kids and at this point in his life, it was second nature to make sure his shadow companion was safe at any time. It was a shame it took him almost a whole minute to notice Rogue wasn't exactly okay. He was, in fact, kneeling on the ground, his mind wandering far away from there, or at least that was Sting could see on his face.

He couldn't blame him though. He didn't know the details but he had listened enough to understand why Rogue would be lost inside his mind. The shadow mage had always been a worrywart, so it made sense he would also work himself up too much about the topic. And, yeah, Sting understood how shocking it must be to see a future version of yourself unleashing a winged disaster over them, but that's what he was there for. To keep Rogue from overthinking, the same way as the other one stopped his impulses when they were uncalled for. They balanced each other, once and again, and today wouldn't be an exception.

"Hey. It's okay." Sting said, cringing a bit when the words left his lips. He meant it, but that wasn't the best thing to say given the circumstances. Therefore, Rogue's answer wasn't a surprise.

"It's not okay." He said, his voice shaking.

"Rogue…" Sting tried again, getting closer to his friend.

"Nothing about this is okay."

Sting licked his lips, searching for the right words. It wasn't his strongest trait, but, for Rogue, he would try. One and a thousand times. He had failed him enough already.

"It doesn't change anything." At that, red eyes lifted to find his own, filled with unusual doubts.

"You don't know what really happened. It was-" Sting's hand lifted in front of his face, successfully silencing the other man.

"Right." He nodded. "I don't know the details, but I caught enough while looking for you. And I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is. We can make it better."

Rogue seemed to consider his words for a moment, but soon his face hardened and his lips pursed.

"I'm going to kill you." He said, and it would have been a lie to say Sting was ready for it. "I'm going to kill you and everyone else. Eventually."

"Is that what you think?" The blond asked, because surprise or not, he still thought it would be okay at the end.

"It's what the dragon said." Rogue shifted under his gaze, clearly uncomfortable.

"I don't care about what a dragon said. I just care about you. Do _you_ think it's true?" That seemed to take Rogue the other by surprise, because it took him a moment to answer the question.

"I… I don't know." Rogue looked to the ground again, avoiding the other one's eyes." I can't imagine a world when I did. I _can't_ think of a world I don't share with you. But." He shrunk into himself before finishing, his hands curling into fists."It seems I did?"

And Sting had been with Rogue for a long, long time, he had seen him grow, had seen him fight and bleed and cry, but he had never seemed that small. Rogue was always confident; even when things went wrong, there was a certain stability to the shadow mage. This time, however, he looked almost frail. It broke something inside Sting's heart.

So, the blond did the only thing he could, and hugged him. It was a weird motion since Rogue was kneeling on the floor and Sting was bent over him, but none of them cared at the moment.

"Listen," the blond said, trying to be comforting. "I know you. I know you better than any shitty dragon and. You are not. Going to kill anyone." He wasn't sure when he had closed his eyes.

"But what if-" Sting hugged Rogue tighter, not letting him end his sentence.

"No buts. You are not." Maybe it was his confidence, or maybe Rogue was too used to trusting him at this point, but there was no refusal this time, only silence and, finally, a small nod.

"Okay."

Neither knew how long they stayed there, none of them willing to move, until Sting shifted back a small distance, just enough to rest his forehead on Rogue's, and look him in the eyes.

"You have always been the good one between us, you know?" He might have been too far gone but there was a gentle light on the red eyes now and that was a good signal.

"Don't say that, Sting." The shadow mage said. "You are amazing."

"I know." Rogue snorted and Sting took that as a victory. "But you're good, Rogue, better than all of us. You always were."

The man shook his head but finally stood up, dragging Sting with him.

"Let's go find everyone else." He said. "We have a lot of things to do from now on."

It seemed like he was almost back to his usual self so the blond pushed his luck a bit, hugging him from behind.

"Can't we just stay here for a little while?"

"I don't think it's a good idea." Rogue said, his face turning a bit to look at him over his shoulder. "But we will have time later."

Sting couldn't stop the huge grin that took over his face.

"Yeah, I guess we do."

.

* * *

.

At the end, it would take them some time to get their later.


	5. Master

**Disclaimer: The characters belongs to Hiro Mashima**

Couldn't let the Stingue week pass by my side, right?

* * *

 **.**

 **MASTER**

 **.**

* * *

 _ **Year x791, some weeks after the GMG. Sabertooth's Guild Hall**_

* * *

Things had been pretty hectic for everyone after everything that happened at the Games. Rogue's words from that night could have been premonitory, and while at the moment he was talking about solving the immediate ruckus caused by the dragons' invasion, it turned out there were too many things to solve from that night on. First, they had to find every guild member they had lost sight of in the fight, then they had to try to find Minerva, then they had to explain to the magic council what had happened, and then they threatened to dissolve the guild because they didn't have a master and…

Everyone had been doing their best, a non-verbal agreement to give a part of their rewards from jobs settling in early on, to help pay the stupid fines the Council gave them for turning in paperwork late, or failing to fill some gaps, or any small mistake they found. Rogue was pissed at them, but Sting had been murderous for a long time, probably because, since he volunteered to be the Guild Master, he was the one facing the annoying men almost daily. And worst of all, he had to control himself in front of them, because Sabertooth was still on thin ice and he couldn't punch them into sense. Yukino had begged Rogue two separate times to take some stupid and simple job and drag the blond to distract him for a while.

It had worked, at least, and for the short one or two days they were out, Sting was mostly back to his new goofy self. Once they got back, however, it only took a visit to the Council to make his rage arise again.

Fortunately, they had finally reached the point when the Council tolerated them better or had run out of stupid excuses to keep bothering them. Whichever it was, they could finally rest and settle on the new dynamics their guild had now. It had been a few weeks since then, and the new atmosphere could be felt in the halls and corridors. Rogue liked it. It was refreshing, and it made coming to the guild more an enjoyable activity than an unavoidable duty.

Overall, Rogue was enjoying the new Sabertooth. And what he enjoyed the most was to have Sting, his childhood friend, back. In some ways, he could say he had never really lost him, since they had never been apart more than a few days, but he never forgot that cheeky kid that somehow got lost on the way to adulthood. And now, he was back. A smoother, more mature version of him, but still with the same spirit he used to have.

Even if now Sting was almost always busy, he also laughed and smiled way more than before. He was boisterous and annoying, his free time spent drinking and eating with everyone else at the Guild's hall. Every time Rogue saw it, it made him think it should have always been this way. It made him promise to himself he would never let that light die again.

And while they haven't really talked about it, it was obvious something had shifted between them. Sting had gotten way more touchy, like from when he was still a kid, and Rogue didn't have the heart to push him away most of the time. Not that he actually wanted to do it, but Rogue wasn't strong enough to face the puppy eyes mastered by the blond. He would like to say he had gotten better with time, but it seemed that either Sting was better now he was older, or Rogue was weaker than he was as a kid.

So, it was not an unusual sight to see the White Dragon Slayer clinging to Rogue, or hugging him or tackling him with no warning. Or trying to do the last one, at least. The shadow mage may have been weak to Sting's big blue eyes, but he never went down without a fight. He still had some dignity remaining. Outside the tackles, however, Rogue enjoyed this old closeness a lot. He had missed it so much and he hadn't even noticed until he got it back. The weight of Sting's hand on his shoulder was grounding in more than one way.

They were also sharing a bed again, like when they were younger. And, while it had never been further than cuddling every night, usually including the Exceeds on their pile, there was still an edge that wasn't there before when they were only kids. Sometimes they looked at each other in the eyes and Rogue just _knew_ , but some shy hesitance hung between them everytime. It was a bit ridiculous, although it made sense considering everything they had gone through.

Some way, everyone at the guild seemed to have caught on to the vibe, hence the knowing looks they gave them when they thought they weren't looking. And he wasn't sure about Sting, but Rogue was usually aware of those silly gestures. It annoyed him a bit. However, he was still grateful that the guild had managed to build enough confidence between members that they both cared enough and also dared to make fun of their situation. It was a nice warm feeling at his heart.

Getting away from his musings, Rogue closed the book he was pretending to read, stretching his back and arms before looking around. The guild hall was empty, the fire from the hearth long gone and the stars shining bright through the windows.

It was late. So late that everyone had already left and most lights were turned off for the night. The Exceeds had taken two short naps before Rogue had sent them both home, Lector half-carrying a sleepy Frosch.

And yet, the shadow mage was still there. Waiting.

With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes once and made his way to the Master's Room. He knocked at the door twice and when he got no answer, he opened it and entered the room.

Sting was, of course, sleeping over his desk, hunched on his chair. His hand was still holding a pen, ink smeared all over the paperwork he was supposed to be filling out. His mouth was open, and a small strand of drool had found its way onto the paper too. It should have been gross, but the sight touched Rogue at his core. The blond had been working so much, and he was always so tired, but while he had cursed at the Council a thousand times, he had never once complained about his new role. It was unfair he had to take so much over his shoulders while he was still so young, but at the same time, everyone was so absolutely grateful towards him for doing it.

Rogue got closer to the sleeping man and couldn't resist running his hand through the messy hair on a tender caress. It made Sting lean into the touch and mumble something in his sleep. Rogue smiled with fondness and softly shook him by the shoulder.

"Wake up, Master. Time to go home." It took some coaxing, but the blond woke up with bleary eyes and asked.

"What time is it?." Not a surprise to anyone that he had lost track of the hour again.

"Almost midnight. Let's go home." Rogue took a few steps to the door but waited for the resistance he would surely experience.

"There are still some things I have to read…" A yawn cut off his sentence and that settled the argument before it even started.

"You've done enough for today. You can do it tomorrow. I may even help you with it, if I am in the mood." Rogue grabbed his wrist and guided him to the Guild's exit, after putting out the last candles.

When they got to the street, it was obvious Sting was barely conscious and so Rogue resigned to his fate with a sigh.

"Come here. I'll carry you." The blond didn't even try to fight it when Rogue took him on a piggyback, his arms loosely hanging around his neck.

It was a ten minutes walk to their home, the city silent around them. A few crickets could be heard, singing at the summer moon. It was peaceful and soothing, after the rush of the past months.

"Are you mad at me?" Sting whispered at Rogue's ear, sleep still thick on his voice.

"I'm not. Why would I be?." Even if the shadow mage was surprised by the question, he tried to keep his voice calm and reassuring. Disturbing the night seemed almost like a crime.

"We don't spend time together anymore. Maybe you think I don't love you enough." Rogue halted, just for a step, before resuming his pace.

"You are busy being an awesome and responsible guildmaster. I know you love me." And it may had been weird, but even after everything, that was a truth he didn't doubt.

"Hmmmm." Sting hummed while shifting a bit in his grip. "But. Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Love me." That was a question the shadow mage never expected. And yet, his answer came fast and with no trace of doubts.

"Of course I do." Rogue snorted, with a subtle fondness behind it. "I'm carrying you home, aren't I?"

"Hmmm. I guess you do." The blond was silent for a moment, and Rogue thought he had fallen asleep, until he asked again, "Are we dating then?."

"I'm not sure, Sting," It was true, since he wasn't sure if their thing already had a name or not. "Are we?"

"I think we are, but I'm scared to ask. I don't want you to say no." Rogue shook his head. As if he could say no to anything that the crazy man asked him.

"Then I guess we are, you, big baby."

"I like it." Sting yawned again. "That you are my boyfriend. I'm lucky."

"I'm lucky too." Rogue said, taking the final steps to their shared house.

He left Sting on his feet again to open the door, dragging him inside and up the stairs once it was done. Both Lector and Frosch were curled up at their bed's headboard, a situation that could have been weird if they weren't used to sharing everything since forever. As soon as the blond's head touched the pillow, he was out cold again, lost to the world and snoring a bit. Rogue smiled at the sight, wondering if he would remember their conversation next morning. He took off his and Sting's shoes before joining his family in bed, his arm resting over his boyfriend's waist to get him closer. Sting snuggled by instinct, settling half of his body over Rogue's. The shadow mage didn't mind a bit, hugging him before closing his eyes to finally rest.

.

* * *

.

It turned out Sting did remember their conversation and was utterly embarrassed about it next day.


	6. Dream

**Disclaimer: The characters belongs to Hiro Mashima**

Couldn't let the Stingue week pass by my side, right?

* * *

 **.**

 **DREAM**

 **.**

* * *

 _ **Year x794. Sting and Rogue's house.**_

* * *

It was weird how things had finally settled down for them. Years ago, Sting would have never imagined about getting the life he was currently living on. Back in time, he had been blinded by expectations that weren't his, as well as afraid of the consequences of following his own dreams.

He wasn't embarrassed to admit it now. It had been a difficult path but he had learnt to accept his weaknesses and fears as a part of himself, as something that could help him become a better person. It was still hard sometimes, to accept there were things he couldn't do, to allow himself to be vulnerable in front of someone else, to understand he also needed time to relax and rest, that he was neither invincible nor somehow expected to be.

There were times when he kept pushing himself too hard, or when he tried to keep everything bottled inside himself, trying to keep a strong facade up. However, now he had friends to keep him on track, people he trusted to help him the same way he would do for them. He was proud to say his whole guild was his family, and that he could relay on them any time he needed to.

To have Rogue as his boyfriend was only the cherry on a cake he would have never dare to hope for. To think Sting could go to sleep and wake up in his arms, hearing his heartbeat by his side, everyday, sometimes still blew his mind.

It had been a bit difficult, at the start. He hadn't been willing to talk about the past, since he just wanted to leave it behind and forget everything about it. The battle against Tartaros showed him it wasn't that easy to get over a lifetime conditioning, so, after it was over and things calmed down, he and Rogue had a talk. It had been enlightening, to know what he'd had been thinking all those years, and also told him what had been in Sting's mind meanwhile. It had been painful to face all their inner demons, both shared and personal, but it had paid off in the end.

Their relationship grew even stronger after that, the silent understanding between them now supported by certainties. Knowing that, through the years, their feelings had never changed was a huge reassurance, something that made them feel confident for their future. If they had survived their troublesome teenage years, there was nothing that could truly stop them or tear them apart.

The war with Alvarez added new scars, both to their bodies and their souls, but after everything was said and done, days melted into a calm routine. Once the biggest threats of the world disappeared, they could spend their time together at peace. Not that their responsibilities vanished, because Sting was still a guild master and had a lot of things to do and also bills didn't wait for them which meant Rogue had to take jobs to pay for them.

It wasn't that bad, once they found their stride, because with things calmer at the guild Sting wasn't that busy anymore, and they didn't need that much money anyway so it was easy to pay everything and even save a bit, without having to stress too much. They could easily save enough to get their own home which made things even easier. Nowadays, besides Rogue being on a few big ones monthly, they took missions together just for fun.

Today, for example, Rogue was gone with Yukino, mostly to help the girl because she had been a bit uncertain to take the mission alone. A lot of their guildmates were out, so Sting could leave earlier than usual and chill at home for a while.

He was alone, since even their Exceeds were gone. They had received an invitation to a party in New Extalia. It seemed it had been sent to every Exceed in Fiore, something related to the Queen wanting to have them all together for once, to strengthen their bonds. Lector and Frosch had been a bit unsure at first, they had never really interacted with their fellow Exceeds there, but, in the end, they decided they wanted to go. It would be interesting at least, to know how things worked at their kingdom, one they had never seen before.

It had been two days since they left, Frosch and Rogue crying a bit at saying their goodbyes, while Sting and Lector pretended not to notice.. The exceeds would come home next day, but for now Sting was alone.

The house felt empty and bigger with everyone gone, but Sting had learned to live with himself at peace, so it only made him miss Rogue a bit more than usual. He left a few things he brought home from the guild on the room's floor, and snatched one of the papers to read it. Most of them were just boring complaints, but he tried to read them all anyway. He wanted to make sure no one in his guild was doing something really bad. He wasn't going to allow it. The one he got was a stupid one, like usual. His guild mates saved he town from four demons, but destroy a fountain while doing it. Why did people complain so much? They had saved the town!

Time passed slowly and night fell. Just when Sting had left his papers for good and was considering if it was too early to go to sleep, he heard keys rattling at the door. It opened and Rogue's smell filtered through the house until it found him. There was a hint of distress, so the blond waited for him there, hearing his steps on the stairs until he appeared at the door.

"Rough mission?" Sting asked, when Rogue collapsed on the bed without even saying hi.

The shadow mage grumbled, no real words leaving his lips.

"I see. Do you want to talk about it?." Sting said, while his hand found its way towards his boyfriend's hair to drop a tender caress.

"It just," Rogue turned his head to look at him, his face showing his disgust. "it was stupid but it took a long time. And we had to take the train. Yukino is meeting her sister tomorrow and I didn't want her to cancel."

Sting grimaced, feeling his pain. Stupid trains.

"Can I do something for you?." He asked then, his hand still wandering.

"I'll be okay. I'm just tired." Rogue still seemed grumpy, so Sting decided he needed both some time alone and a treat.

"Okay. I'll make dinner then."

"You sure you won't burn the kitchen?" Rogue said, half a smirk visible from the bed.

"First, it only happened once." Sting said, while getting up. "And second, just for that I won't make you something fancy."

"You were just going to do sandwiches anyway." The answer came with a chuckle that made Sting smile, so he let it rest for now.

"Believe whatever you want." Was the only thing he said, before heading towards the kitchen.

He took his time, making sure their sandwiches had all Rogue's favourites. Once it was done, he went up the stairs, careful to not drop anything. When he got the room, he found his boyfriend in the exact same position he had left him in.

"Get up, I brought you food." Sting said when he entered the room, making Rogue growl and bury his face into the pillow. The blond left the dishes on the nightstand before poking at his boyfriend. "Get up, you don't like crumbs on the bed. And you are gonna blame me even if you are the one getting them on it."

In the end, Sting had to threaten to jump over Rogue to manage to get him to actually sit and eat his sandwich without ruining the bed. The shadow mage was unusually cuddly that night, his arms hugging Sting from behind, once he finished his meal. His nose found its way to Sting' neck, staying there while the blond kept eating his own food. Rogue didn't say anything, apparently content with the physical contact. He let out a few sighs, getting closer to Sting every time he did.

The blond took his time, to enjoy both his sandwich and this touchy version of Rogue. When it was over, he left their plates on the nightstand and turned around to kiss his boyfriend.

"You're tired. Let's go to bed already." He said, before disentangling himself from the arms surrounding him, to take off his shoes and clothes.

"Get the dirty plates down." Rogue told him, already shirtless and half hiding under the blankets.

"They can stay there for one night." Sting really didn't want to go downstairs again, and Rogue only grumbled a bit in response, so he guessed the plates could wait.

The blond joined his boyfriend in bed, putting his arm over Rogue's waist, who seemed to be already half way into sleep. His eyes were closed, and the frown disappeared from his face. He was now relaxed and the sight made a warm feeling grow in Sting's chest. He just loved this man so much. It was such a shame he had lost so much time when they were young. To think he could have enjoyed this view years before...

He mourned the time lost, but also cherished what he had now. His hand trailed a slow and tender caress over Rogue's cheek, brushing a stray hair lock out of his face. Sting had a long day, and yet he thought he could spend the whole eternity content just looking at his boyfriend peacefully breathing.

"Stop daydreaming on me." Rogue said, opening his eyes to look at the pensive blond.

"I don't need to. I have everything I had dreamt for." There was a heavy certainty in his voice when he said that. Something solid lying under his words.

It made Rogue blush. And it was great, because Sting didn't manage to achieve that too often. The blond smiled, while the other man hid his face under Sting's chin.

"Are you sure?" Rogue said then, his voice so low that Sting almost didn't catch it, enhanced hearing or not.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused by the sudden change of topic.

"It's nothing." The shadow mage said. "I can tell you later."

"But Rogue," Sting whined. "I'm curious now."

"Go to sleep, big baby. You have a meeting tomorrow." Rogue snuggled closer to Sting's chest, searching for his warm. The blond pouted at the reminder.

"Are you going with me?" he said. A yawn made its way through his lips, sleep finally catching up with him. "I really don't want to go alone."

"Hmmm, I don't know" Rogue answered with laziness on his voice. "What do I win?"

"Spend time with your handsome boyfriend?" Sting dropped a kiss on the other man's hair. "I miss you when I'm away."

"It's just a few hours," he said, faking annoyance. "But we'll see. If you go to sleep, I may make up my mind tomorrow."

Sting smiled, knowing that was almost as good as a yes. He sighed with content and closed his eyes, his body slipping a bit more under the blankets. What else could he ask for?

.

* * *

.

Rogue indeed told him later. A few years later.


	7. AU

**Disclaimer: The characters belongs to Hiro Mashima**

Couldn't let the Stingue week pass by my side, right?

* * *

 **.**

 **AU**

 **.**

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a small house in the middle of a big forest. It was placed at a clearing, with a beautiful view of all the evergreen trees surrounding it. Someone could have thought it was a house like any other one, but don't be fooled by shallow overviews because this one was a special house. When you got closer to it, you could see how all of it, its walls and windows, its roof and door, everything, was made of candies.

The walls were made of ginger cookies, and so was the roof which was also covered in white icing. The door was a few shades darker, probably a chocolate cookie crowned with a jawbreaker doorknob. As for the windows, two massive pockys shaped as a cross were placed on each one, caramel curtains obscuring the view from the inside and more icing decorated the window's frame.

The whole house was covered in different kind of candies, in all shapes and flavours. Candy beans were spread all around the roof and the walls, as well as some taffys, meringues and marshmallows. You could easily point out strawberry, peppermint, apple, pineapple and cherry flavoured ones, and also a few tricky ones which you would need to taste to be sure.

A sweet scent filled the whole clearing, its thick tendrils spreading around to attract any traveler who happened to wander close enough to find such a wonder. And those seemed to accomplish their goal, since, a bit after midday, two figures made their way through the forest to the lollipop fenced path that led to the door.

One of them, the better-looking one, quickly moved towards the path that led to the house. His steps soon left the forest's grass to enter the chocolate ground that made the path until the door.

"What are you doing, Sting?" asked the boring one, while the first one busied himself picking lollipops from the fence that surrounded the path.

"What do you think?! Free lollipops! You can't pass up an opportunity like this!" He said, as he kept putting lollipops in his pockets and getting closer to the house's door while he did so.

His friend followed him with caution, eyeing both the house and the surroundings with suspicion. He found the whole situation strange, but nothing had happened yet, so there was no way he could convince Sting to stop stealing candies from the house. The blond had already moved to the walls, and was trying to take away some beans near the door.

"I'm not sure this is hygienic enough." His friend said, trying to at least make him slow down. "Besides you don't know who lives in that house."

Sting turned to look at him, one of the lollipops in his mouth, making it hard to understand his next words.

"Come on, Rogue, no one could live this deep in the forest." Just after the blond said that, the door behind his back opened with a creaky sound.

Both men turned towards it, However, the only one there was a beautiful woman, with long black hair, who greeted them cheerfully.

"Oh, hello, hello! It seems we have visitors! Come in, come in, I'm always happy to have visitors!" The woman opened the door wide, making gestures for both of them to enter. "I have more treats inside!"

Sting, of course, entered the house with no hesitation whatsoever when he heard those words. His friend took a few steps after him, but stopped near the frame. There was something weird with all of this.

"What are you waiting for, Rogue?" The blond said and, with no other option, his friend followed him inside. The door closing behind him made him feel a strange dread, which he disregarded when he saw Sting already sitting at the couch with no need for an invitation. Rogue was about to scold him when the woman talked again.

"Oh, dear, you seem to like my house." She said, moving around to what seemed to be the kitchen. "I built it myself!"

"Oh, did you?" Sting said. "How do you make a house just from candies?"

"Of course! You just need dedication." The woman came back with two bowls, both of them full with even more candies. She gave one to each one, and Sting didn't doubt to dive into his plate with no decency. Rogue wasn't surprised tho, since from what he could see, his bowl was full with white chocolate, sugar coated almonds, mint beans, pineapple gummy bears, and other things Rogue wasn't sure he could identify. Not that it mattered too much, considering how fast they disappeared inside Sting's mouth.

The woman smiled at Rogue, and he looked at his own bowl to avoid her eyes. He may have even eaten some of the candies that were inside. You can't blame him, those looked tasty and way more hygienic that the ones outside.

"Uhm, so what are you-?" He tried to ask, but Sting interrupted him half way into his question.

"Can you give me more of these? They're great!" He said, with a big smile. Rogue wanted to smack him for his rudeness, but the woman just laughed and gave him more things.

"It's not often we have visitors!" she said then, eyeing them with a strange emotion on her gaze. "What are you doing so deep in the forest, my dears?"

"We were traveling and took a shortcut." Sting said, his mouth full of food.

"He made us lose the way." Rogue answered at the same time, with way more propriety.

"So, no one at home waiting for you?" There was, again, a strange flick in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared. "You could stay with me, then. It's very late to be out in the woods, you know?"

"I'm not sure…" Rogue tried, but again, Sting was faster than him.

"Can we get more candies if we stay? I mean, it is late indeed." This time, Rogue actually smacked his head, before trying to apologize to the woman.

"I'm very sorry, please forgive him." He said, utterly embarrassed.

"Ah, no worries dear, I offered, didn't I?" She seemed pleased instead of angry, which was a bit hard for Rogue to understand. She turned to face Sting before adding. "And yeah, of course you can. Would you like something else with them? What can we offer you? Tea, milk, coffee?"

"Milk would be nice, thanks." The blond said, the blow apparently remembering some of his manners. The woman looked at Rogue, and he nodded, to at least take her off their backs for a moment.

She went to the kitchen, and meanwhile Rogue tried to talk some sense into Sting.

"What are you doing?! Don't you think it's at least a bit weird?" He whispered to his friend shaking his shoulder a bit to distract him from the candies.

"Uh? Why should it be?" Was the only answer the blond gave him.

"Because she is too nice and doesn't even know us? And it's a goddamn candy house in the middle of a forest? What about it is _not_ weird?" Rogue tried very hard to keep his voice low enough, to avoid being heard by the woman in the kitchen.

" Oh" Sting thought for a moment. "Now that you say it like that… But it's okay! She's right, it's late. We can leave tomorrow and forget about this."

"I'm still not sure." Rogue sighed with defeat. "But okay. I guess it won't be that bad if it's just one night."

Just as he said that, the woman came back, carrying two big vases filled with white milk.

"Make sure to drink it all, dears. It will help you to… sleep." She smiled as she said it.

Rogue took a small sip of the milk, but there was no weird taste and he didn't die immediately, so he drank it slowly while Sting and the woman talked about nothing interesting. The light died outside the house, and Rogue felt himself yawning. The blond seemed to be tired too, since he was rubbing his eyes and had finally put down the candies bowl. The woman, who still hadn't said her name, showed them a small guest room with two beds.

The beds were a bit small, but since he was a visitor, Rogue didn't have any right to complain. Sting had dropped dead over the bed, and was already snoring when the woman wished them a good night. Rogue thought it would take him some time to actually fall asleep, since he usually had a bit of a routine before going to bed, but not even five minutes later sleep claimed him with no mercy.

He woke up some time later, not sure how many hours had passed, while being half-dragged half-carried out of the room. His mind was fuzzy, so it took him a moment to understand what was wrong with the situation. Once he could focus enough, he felt his blood run cold. The house was dark, it was the middle of the night and someone was dragging his body out of the room. He tried to fight them, but his body failed to do anything else than struggle weakly

"So you are awake. We told you to drink all the milk, bad boy." It was, of course, the woman. Rogue wanted to kick himself for being so stupid, after everything he had said before. He had avoided the candies outside, barely bite a few of the ones offered inside, but when he faced the oldest and most obvious trap in the world, he fell for it.

Then, like a knight in a shiny armor, Sting appeared at the bedroom door, more awake than Rogue would have thought he could be at whatever time in the morning.

"What are you doing?" He said, looking confused and worried about the scene in front of his eyes. He got the drill fast enough, his body already on guard.

"Another bad boy!" The woman screamed. "We were sure you had drunk all my potion! You didn't seem too smart, you know?"

"Of course I didn't drink it. I'm not as naive as some people think I am." Rogue could feel his eyes on him, but carefully ignored them, focusing instead on trying to clear his head and do something.

The woman was very strong, considering how frail she looked. Her arm surrounded his chest with an iron grip, and Rogue wasn't sure how to avoid it. His fuzzy head didn't help, although adrenaline was doing its best to help him with that.

"Let him go." Sting said, taking a step towards them. The woman snarled and an energy bolt appeared on her left hand, the one that wasn't holding Rogue. It attacked the blond, who barely managed to avoid it.

"None of you are leaving here! I'll eat you both to the bones!" Rogue couldn't see what face she was making, but Sting seemed to be horrified enough for both of them. The witch kept dragging his body closer to the stove with every step. Its door was open, and Rogue could see the flames burning inside. The woman was surely prepared enough to accomplish her evil plans.

"Let him go." Sting tried again, following them, but keeping enough distance to avoid more bolts. "We'll leave and no one has to know about this. You can stay in your tasty house."

"We said no one is leaving!" She took a step back, her voice bordering on hysteria.

They were just at the side of the stove and Rogue could feel her grip loosening a bit, surely confident she had already won. His head was clearer than before, so he tried to make a plan. He didn't move just yet, waiting for his chance, as well as giving her a false sense of reassurance. They were short on time, however, so Rogue looked at Sting's eyes, trying to make him understand. There was a flicker in the blue eyes, and then the blond turned his concentration to the witch again. Rogue seriously hoped it would be enough.

Summoning all his strength, he dived down, out of the woman's grip. Her long nails leaving a red trail on his neck and face, but the man didn't have time to care about it. Meanwhile, Sting had charged with all his strength towards the woman, crushing into her and sending her body right into the still open oven.

Rogue caught him from the back before he stumbled inside too, and closed the stove's door as fast as he could. The woman inside screeched, pounding hard at the door, trying to open it. Rogue rested all his body over it, the heat burning his hands, and Sting joined with his own weight over him. The shrieks and pounding didn't stop for a long time, so long that it felt like years for the two men.

Once the witch stopped screaming and the house fell silent, Rogue took a step back and raised his eyes to look at Sting.

"I told you there was something weird."

.

* * *

 _ **Year x799. Sabertooth's Guild Hall.**_

* * *

"And so, the two handsome men defeated the evil witch and burnt the house to ashes." Sting finished his story, getting a few cheers from his audience. Which happened to be two little kids, sitting on the ground in front his chair, as well as half the guild who were pretending to mind their own business while not so subtly eavesdropping on them. Minerva was staring at him, her face not even attempting to hide her annoyance.

One of the kids, the boy, raised his hand and asked.

"Why did the woman want to eat them?" He asked, clearly confused, even if he didn't question it before. "What did she win from doing that?"

"Oh, she ate people for fun. The witch was beautiful, but hid a demon inside." Sting winked toward Minerva, and she huffed before saying to the blond.

"You are lucky the kids are with you." The deadpan voice made Sting shudder, but he kept his playful manners and laughed.

Minerva looked at her nails with feigned indifference, but Sting could see a hidden fondness on her face. Guess the years were softening all of them.

Just a moment later, the guild's door opened and someone entered the hall. It wasn't as if Sting needed to turn around to see who it was, but if he had any doubt, the happy squeals of his children made it clear enough.

Both of them ran towards the door, and Sting moved a bit to watch them make their way. Once they got to the man standing there, they latched onto his legs with no hesitation, raising their face to look at him.

"Daddy!" They screamed with their high pitched voices. "You're back!"

"Hi kids. What a nice welcome! Maybe I should leave for a few days more often." Rogue seemed just a bit surprised, mostly because he wasn't expecting to see the kids at the guild.

"Noooo, we missed you!" The kids pouted at the same time, and Sting muffled a laugh, while Rogue looked more touched than anything else.

"I missed you too. What are you doing here?"

"We came here with Dad!" The boy said proudly.

"He said we could have fun here while we waited for you!" The girl also said, while doing grabbing hands to Rogue.

"Oh?" He lifted both kids, and carried one in each arm. "What did you do while you waited?"

"He told us the story of a candy house! It's was horrible!" The girl said, throwing her arms around her father's neck.

"There was a beautiful evil witch!" The boy added, bouncing a bit on Rogue's arm.

"Really?" The shadow mage asked, a smile on his lips, while he looked at Sting, who was still sitting on the chair, his body twisted to gaze at them.

The sight in front the blond's eyes filled his chest with peace and warmth. Rogue and their children, talking in the guild hall, while their guild mates shared amused looks and pretended to ignore them. Sting sighed content, his chin resting on the chair's back. He couldn't help but get lost in thoughts.

.

* * *

.

 _This is_ our _happily ever after._


End file.
